Rare 4.0 magnitude earthquake recorded off of Florida's east coast: USGS
MIAMI — A rare 4.0 magnitude earthquake was recorded off Florida's east coast late Wednesday night, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
According to the USGS, the earthquake occurred about 100 miles east off the coast of Cape Canaveral around 10:48 p.m. — at a depth of about 6 miles below the seafloor.
As of 11:35 a.m. Thursday, 96 people submitted "felt reports" to the agency, and according to CBS News Miami's news partners at the Miami Herald, these reports came from witnesses across the Space Coast in places such as Melbourne, Palm Bay and Satellite Beach.
Seismic experts suggest that earthquakes aren't usually felt until they reach a magnitude of 2.5, which is also the point that some minor damage could occur.
A search of USGS records dating back to 1900 showed the region of the Atlantic Ocean where the quake occurred, where the Miami Herald found only one other earthquake in that area: A 3.3 magnitude quake on June 11, 2001, centered about 86 miles off the coast of St. Augustine Beach.
The Miami Herald also found that eight additional incidents of seafloor shaking have been recorded since 2000, which were attributed to "experimental explosions" centered on the seafloor rather than below. The USGS reported those explosions registering between 3.7 and 3.9 magnitude.
However, USGS officials have not reported Wednesday night's quake to any experiments. What makes the earthquake more mysterious is that the region is not known for hosting tectonic plate boundaries, which are prone to having seismic activity, the Miami Herald reported.
